Personal Information of Parents Who Fail to Pay Child Support Will Be Disclosed Online Starting July 13

[경향신문]

Kim Kyong-seon, vice minister of gender equality and family announces government measures to better enforce child support payments for underage children of single parents at the government office in Seoul on June 9. Yonhap News

From July 13, the actual names of parents who do not pay child support will be released on the Internet. These parents can be sentenced to criminal punishment of up to a year in prison.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced measures for better payment of child support for underage children raised by single parents including these details at the 11th Ministerial Meeting on Education, Society and Culture at the government office in Seoul on June 9. The latest measures were based on the Act on Enforcing and Supporting Child Support Payment.

According to the new measures, if a person with the obligation to pay child support fails to make the payment, the person receiving the payment can request a court order to arrest the insolvent person. If that person does not pay child support within a year after the court order, he or she can be sentenced to criminal punishment of up to a year in prison or a fine of 10 million won.

If that person refuses to pay child support despite the court order, his or her personal information can be disclosed on the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family website after a review by the child support payment review board. The name, age, occupation, and address of the person who failed to pay child support will be released. The government can also ban these people from leaving the country and suspend their driver’s license.

Procedures to enforce the payment of child support will also become more efficient. If a parent does not pay child support, the government will be able to access information on the income and property of these parents through the public administration information system without their consent. The government will also conduct an inspection on false resident registrations of people who owe child support to resolve the problem of those who register fake addresses to avoid paying child support and getting arrested. The government is also promoting an amendment of the Family Litigation Act to shorten the time necessary to request a court order. Currently, a request can be made 90 days after the parent failed to pay child support, but the amendment will shorten that to 30 days.

The government will also lower the income standard for parents eligible for emergency aid for temporary child support to ease the burden of single parents raising children due to economic and health reasons. If a parent has trouble raising children due to unemployment or illness, the government provides a monthly 200,000 won per child for up to twelve months. Currently, parents with an income that falls below 60% of the median income are eligible for such aid, but the government plans to lower this standard. Later, the government will charge the parent who failed to pay child support for the emergency payment. In the past, the government had to charge the parent through litigation after providing government support, but from June 10, the government can collect the money immediately according to tax exaction procedures, such as confiscation. The Act on Enforcing and Supporting Child Support Payment will be enforced beginning July 13.

Chung Young-ai, minister of gender equality and family said, “Enforcing the payment of child support is the least of measures the government can take to guarantee the child’s right to survival,” and explained, “Improving the system by strengthening the responsibility of the parent not raising the child and who refuses to pay child support and by reducing the litigation period and simplifying procedures, we will increase the payment of child support and create an environment where a single parent can securely raise her child.”